DC Velocity - January 2019

4 DC VELOCITY JANUARY 2019 www.dcvelocity.com inbound

Here’s our monthly roundup of some of the charitable works and donations by companies in the material handling and logistics space.

b Employees of data capture and supply chain analytics specialist Barcoding Inc. joined staffers from Zebra Technologies’ Texas office for an annual charity day hosted by Front Gate Tickets. At the event, volunteers served and packaged food for a total of 13,303 meals at the Central Texas Foodbank in Austin.

b Eden Prairie, Minn.-based third-party logistics giant C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. contributed $1,030,000 in 2018 to nonprofit organizations in North America, Europe, and Asia. Approximately $350,000 of the grants, which were made through the C.H. Robinson Foundation, went to nonprofits in the company’s headquarters state of Minnesota to support causes like educational success for at-risk youth, hunger prevention, and affordable housing.

b Transportation industry financial services firm eCapital LLC donated 100 Razor scooters to The Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Foundation on behalf of its trucking clientele. Participants in the firm’s JoyRide program hand-delivered the scooters to a Toys for Tots facility on Nov. 15, underlining the Las Vegas-based company’s commitment to children’s causes.

b Lowell, Ark.-based supply chain solutions provider J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. and Dallas-based logistics technology vendor Omnitracs LLC participated in Wreaths Across America, an annual event in which volunteers place wreaths on the graves of veterans at participating cemeteries. Omnitracs pledged $25,000 toward the purchase of 2,500 wreaths and supported its employees who volunteered their time on “Wreaths Across America Day.” More than 2,000 J.B. Hunt employees also participated in the event, including 42 drivers who transported the wreaths from Harrington, Maine, to their final destinations using 16 military-themed semi tractors.

b Boston-based supply chain consulting firm Maine Pointe raised $60,000 for charity at its annual company meeting in November. Beneficiaries included the humanitarian medical care organization Doctors Without Borders ($40,000), Stand Up to Cancer ($10,000), and the Harry Chapin Food Bank in Southwest Florida ($10,000).

Logistics gives back

Industrial property developer Prologis Inc. is addressing a logistics labor shortage by going straight to the source of tomorrow’s work force—the high school classroom. The company is partnering with the Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) to launch a new program that will provide mentorship, skills training, and internships for high school students interested in pursuing careers in logistics, distribution, and transportation.

The move is an expansion of a similar program launched in Southern California last fall, San Francisco-based Prologis said. Construction of the Florida Prologis Trade and Logistics Lab was scheduled to begin this month, with the first students expected to enroll in August 2019.

The latest Prologis Trade and Logistics Lab will be housed at Miami Springs Senior High School and will reach more than 300 students enrolled in the district’s five high school trade and logistics programs, the firm said. Throughout the four-year program, students will have access to a state-of-the-art instructional lab, an industry-focused curriculum designed with input from Prologis, and experiential learning opportunities such as career exploration days. Students will also receive career guidance from industry executives and be matched in trade internships after their junior year.

“With demand for skilled labor in logistics, transportation, and fulfillment on the rise, job training programs that foster high-quality, rewarding career pathways have never been more important,” Prologis’s chief legal officer, Edward S. Nekritz, said in a release. “Connecting with organizations like Miami-Dade County Public Schools allows us to build a pipeline of talented workers for the future, in addition to enhancing local economies and delivering superior customer service.”